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The Australian telco spent big in the Australian spectrum auction, picking up 17 of the 39 lots that were on offer
Australian network operator Telstra has spent $72 million (£41 million) on additional mobile spectrum, in a move aimed at strengthening its data service capabilities and provide a solid backbone for its 5G offerings in the future.
Telstra picked up 17 of the 39 lots available at this week’s spectrum auction in Australia. The majority of Telstra’s spending was allocated to a block of 3.4Ghz spectrum in Queensland.
"The additional spectrum we have secured will mean we can continue to deliver the best experience for our customers and meet the ever growing demand for data," Telstra said in a statement.
"Some of this spectrum will also support the early evolution of 5G technology beyond the trials we already have planned for 2018."
Telstra has invested $3.4 billion in spectrum over the last 15 years.
The remaining lots were picked up by Telstra’s rivals in the Australian telecoms sector, including Vodafone, TPG, Optus and NBN.
In other news, Telstra announced yesterday that it had acquired VMtech, a Sydney based provider of enterprise-grade hybrid cloud, connectivity and security solutions, a move that will strengthen Telstra’s digital capabilities.
“As organisations digitise their business they are increasingly moving from a basic cloud-first model to best-fit solutions that often involve a secure hybrid cloud approach. As a result, customers are looking to us to provide hybrid solutions for their network, security and cloud infrastructure, as well as support with defining, architecting, implementing and managing these solutions,” said Christopher Smith, Telstra’s executive director of business technology services.
“The cloud services markets in Australia and Asia are growing rapidly and we expect to see this growth continue as more organisations adopt hybrid cloud solutions over the coming years. This presents a huge opportunity for Telstra,” he added.
